Volunteers Needed - Delaware Bay Migratory Shorebird Project!

The field season is quickly approaching, and a schedule of research activities is available on-line in PDF format. (PDF files are viewable with the Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free from Adobe's Web site.)

Volunteers may: (1) conduct observations for color-banded shorebirds ("Scans"); (2) conduct environmental education at shorebird viewing sites ("Shorebird Stewardship"); (3) assist with horseshoe crab egg censuses; (4) assist with shorebird banding ("Banding").

Assistance is needed from early May to early June. Most of the research activities occur during the week except for Shorebird Stewardship.

For more information, or to sign up for volunteer dates, please call Amanda Dey, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program, PO Box 400, Trenton, NJ 08625; phone (609) 292-9451/9400; email: adey@dep.state.nj.us.

In addition to scheduling volunteer dates, the following are important announcements and things we need from you if you would like to volunteer:

1) We need experienced volunteers to help with shorebird trapping during the first two weeks of May (and the first week of June).

We will be short on experienced staff during these periods. If you have worked with the trapping crew before, please consider trying to volunteer during the first two weeks of May. It would help us considerably.

2) We need your contact information, (even if you are already in our database!).

Because much of our fieldwork relies on weather and the tides, plans may change at a moment's notice, and we may need to reach you at home.

Please provide:

Name
Home Address
Home Phone
Home e-mail
Work Phone
Work e-mail

Please complete a WCC Application form and mail it before April 25, 2001, to my attention at the address below. You can print off an application from our website: www.njfishandwildlife.com/wccapp.htm. If you are already a WCC volunteer, please let me know; if in doubt, fill out the form and return it. . . . . thanks.

As a WCC member, you are covered by insurance for accidental injury. You cannot participate in fieldwork unless you are a WCC member. There is a minimum age requirement of 18 to join.

Amanda Dey
Endangered and Nongame Species Program
NJ Div. of Fish and Wildlife
P.O. Box 400
Trenton, NJ 08625-0400

4) Shorebird Steward Training Session: Saturday, April 28, 2001, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Cape May County Mosquito Commission, Cape May Courthouse, NJ

Kathy Clark, Principal Zoologist with the Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP), will conduct training that will prepare volunteers to protect and manage shorebird habitats at beaches in Cape May and Cumberland Counties. By participating in this important project, you will contribute to the protection and preservation of shorebird populations. If you are interested in becoming a steward, please contact Elissa Director by April 23, (609) 984-0621, for more information and to sign up for training.

5) We are requesting that all volunteers try to commit to three days of volunteer work over the course of May and early June.

I know it sounds like a lot to ask, but we are trying to develop a trained corps of citizen scientists that will come back and work with us year after year. We truly appreciate your dedication.

6) For more information on shorebirds and the Delaware Bay Shorebird Project:

Go to Endangered and Nongame Species Program homepage on NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife website: www.njfishandwildlife.com/ensphome.htm

Select the following links:

* "Major Projects at ENSP", then select "Delaware Bay Shorebirds"
* "Search for Red Knots in the Canadian Arctic"
* "Search for Red Knots in South America"

If you have any questions or concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact me, and thanks for your help. We are looking forward to a productive season!

Amanda Dey, Assistant Biologist
Endangered and Nongame Species Program
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
P.O. Box 400
Trenton, NJ 08625-0400
(609) 292-9451/9400
adey@dep.state.nj.us